Undergarment



E. BERDACH April 17, 1951 UNDERGARMENT Filed Dec. 22, 1948 INVENTOR. $5M f .14 fiorneys Patented Apr. 17, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEUNDERGARMENT Ernest Berdach, New York, N. Y. Application December 22,1948, Serial No. 66,681

12 Claims. (01. 2-143) The invention relates to articles of apparelconstituting a, ladys 'undergarment such as a girdle, foundationgarment, or combination garment ofwhich one portion is constituted of agirdle, and the other of a brassiere. The invention more particularlyconsists in providing an undergarment of any usual type having a portionadapted to encircle the torso in the abdominal region thereof, in whichsuch body-encircling or girdling portion has applied thereto, in theportion of the garment adapted to overlie the 2 distribution of theflesh and still maintain the full support for portions of the body abovethe waistline and provide complete freedom of .move- I ment above suchwaistline which would not be possible with the high-waisted garment ofconventional design and construction. I

I attain these objects by an embodiment of my patented garment structurein which both the front and rear diamond-shaped inserts do not extendentirely to the upper edge of the garment, but terminate first in arestriction at the upper terminus of the diamond-shaped insert and thenflare outwardly and upwardly in a triangular extension of thediamond-shaped insert. Such triangular extension is bordered upon eachside thereof by a bone insert substantially co-eXtensive in length withthe triangular exthe two sections constituting the sides of the garment.V

The garment of the present invention constitutes an improvement on thegarment described in my Patent No. 2,384,806 dated September 18, 1945,in which the diamond-shaped inserts, both in the front and rear sectionsof the garment,

have their upper and lower apices lying in the respective upper andlower edges of the garment; The garment of my previously issued patentis one which well serves the purposes for which it was designed, butforthe present trend of womens apparel, ahigh-waisted undergarment ismore desirable. Such a high-waisted undergarment, whether of the girdleor foundation type usually has its girdle portion extend some 2 to 3inches above the waistline. It is well known in the art, that such ahigh-waisted undergarment extending to this degree above the waistline,is uncomfortable when worn and re,- sults in an unsightly effect byreason of the pressure exerted by the portion of the girdle extendingabove the waistline, whereby the flesh of the wearer, particularly inthe abdominal region, is pushed out of place; in other words, thepressure exerted by such a girdle distributes the flesh at exactly theplace where it is not desirable. Conventional garments of thehigh-waisted type thus push the flesh of the wearer upwardly.

It is the object of the present invention to 'provide such a highwaisted garment which despite the added length of some 2- to 3' inchesof the girdle, which added length extends above the waistline, is soconstructed as to cause a proper tension of the diamond-shaped section.With this novel construction, I secure with my garment a proper'distribution of the flesh of the wearer above the waistline and secureat the same time the full support and necessary freedom of movementabove the waistline which would not be possible with the conventionalstyle of highwaisted garments without such triangular and bone-borderedinsert extension.

With my improved garment, I am enabled to securesubstantially all of theadvantages of my prior garment, and in addition thereto am able" toutilize a side opening structure for facilitating the donning of thegarment. At the opposite side'of the garment, I provide further avertically extending bone-insert matching the bone pro vided at'the sidehaving the fastener structure,

so that the entire upper portion of the garment,

constructed in accordance with my present invention, constitutes acompletely confining and restraining garment having all 'of the advantages of my prior patented garment'and the additional features of ahigh-waisted garment.

A particular embodiment of my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, wherein I illustrate a construction of girdle madein accordance with my invention. In such drawing:

ig. 1 is a front view of a girdle constructed in accordance with myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of such girdle; and Fig. 3 is a section on theline 3-3 of Fig. 1. Referring more particularly to the drawing, in whichsimilar reference characters identify similar parts in the severalviews, the construction of girdle in which my invention has beenutilized pref rabl cons of f onts c n l0 an r r sections H formed of sinle piecesof woven mainsert [5 of substantially diamond-shape in thefront of the garment and a correspondingly configured insert 16 in theback of the garment. Such diamond-shaped inserts I5 and l6fit exactlyinto the V-shaped edges of the sections II and II each having theirlower apices lying in the lower edge of the garment. The inserts- I5 andI5 are stitched to the V-shaped edges of sections l and H by stitchingH.

In boththe front and rear sections of the garment, the diamond-shapedpanels or inserts l and I6 extend upwardly from their upper extremitiesto the upper edge of the garment. Such extensions l8 and i9 aresubstantially in the form of a triangle with the bottom of the triangleforming the narrow throat removed from the upper edge of the garment.Each of such triangular extensions IB and I9 thus form elastic insertsin the front and rear of the garment which are continuations of thefront and rear panels orinserts. Each of the substantially triangularextensions is bordered on each side with bone inserts or stays which maybe conveniently enclosed within pockets provided therefor.

At one side of the garment extending from the upper edge thereof tosubstantially the midpoint of the garment, is a conventional fastenerstructure 2| having an operating slider 22. If desired, the fasteneropening may be bordered with a bone insert or stay 23.

At the opposite side of the garment and extending substantiallyco-extensively with the side opening on the other side of the garment,is a bone insert or stay 24.

While I have described my novel garment as constituted with a centralfront and rear diamond-shaped panel, formed of a material which isstretchable in the vertical direction, it is within theambit of myinvention to make such central inserts of entirely non-stretchable material. The confiningeffect of the front and rear panels would in thatcase be more pronounced, but in certain instances, such greater degreeof confinement may have its advantages.v Also, the advantages of .mygarment may be secured, though not to their full extent, by providingthe diamond-shaped insert and its triangular extension only in eitherthe front or rear of the garment.

I claim:

1. An undergarment of woven material including a tight fitting bodyencircling structure comprising a front section adapted to overlie andconfine the abdomen, a rear section, and two side sections eachconstituted of a panel of woven material, said side sections in thelower portion of the garment being outlined at their meeting edges withone of said front and rear sections of the garment, by edges in theV-form of an obtuse angle, the arms of which extend vertically of thegarment, and said side sections, in the upper portion of the garment,having their meeting edges with said one of said front and rear sectionsforming the two sides of an inverted triangular opening, the base ofwhich is substantially horizontal, said one of said front and rearsections comprising an insert having a lower portion interposed betweenthe arms of the obtuse angle of the adjacent side sections and the saidinsert having an extension upwardly toward the upper edge of thegarment, said extension being positioned in said triangular opening andsaid extension being substantially triangular in shape, the apex of thetriangle joining the lower portion of the insert in a nar row throat.

2. An undergarment as claimed in claim 1 in which the triangularextension is bordered on each side thereof with a bone insert.

3. An undergarment as claimed in claim 1, having a side' openingextending substantially half way the length of the garment from theupper edge thereof downwardly, said opening being bordered with abone'insert substantially co-extensive with the opening.

4. An undergarment as claimed in claim 1, having a side openingextending substantially half way the length of the garment from theupper edge thereof downwardly, said opening being bordered with a boneinsert substantially co-extensive with the opening, the: side of thegarment opposite that at which the opening is provided having a boneinsert substantially coextensive with the opposite garment opening.

5. An undergarment of woven material including a tight fitting bodyencircling structure comprising a front section adapted to overlie andconfine the abdomen, a rear section, and two side sections eachconstituted of a panel of woven material, said side sections in thelower portion of the garment being outlined at their meeting edges withsaid front and rear sections of the garment, by edges in the V-form ofan obtuse angle, the arms of which extend vertically of the garment, andsaid side sections, in the upper portion of the garment, having theirmeeting edges with,rsaid front and rear sections forming the two sidesofan inverted triangular opening, the base of which is substantiallyhorizontal, said front and rear sections comprising an insert having alower portion interposed between the arms of the obtuse angle of theadjacent side sections and the said inserts having an extension upwardlytoward the upperedge of the garment, saidextension being positioned insaid triangular opening and said extension being substantiallytriangular in shape, the apexof the triangle joining the'lower portionof the insert in anarrow throat.

6. An undergarment as claimed in claim 5 in which'the triangularextension is borderedon each side thereof with a bone.

'7. An undergarment as claimed in claim 5, having a side openingextending substantially half way the length'of the garment from theupper edge thereof downwardly, said opening being bordered with a boneinsert substantially co-extensive with the opening.

8. An undergarment as claimed in claim 5,

having a side opening extending substantially half waythe length of thegarment from the upper edge thereof downwardly, said'opening beingbordered with a bone insert substantially co-extensive with the opening,the side of the garment opposite that at which the opening is providedhaving a'bone insert substantially coextensive with the opposite garmentopening.

1 9. An undergarment as claimed in claim 1 in which said insert consistsof a material 'stretch- REFERENCE-S CITED able only in the verticaldirectmn- The followin references are of record in the 10. Anundergarment as claimed in claim 1 in me of this -i re hable f X11521aslaid insert consists of a non st tc 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS V 11. Anundergarment as claimed in claim 5 in Number Name I Date which saidinsert consists of a material stretch- 1,955,306 Malmstead Apr. 1'7,1934 able only in the vertical direction. 2, 36,510 Towey Apr. '7, 193612. An undergarment as claimed in claim 5 in 2,169,585 Kops Aug. 15,1939 which said insert consists of a non-stretchable '10 ,261,547Goodman et a1. Nov. 4, 1941 material. 2,274,770 Amyot Mar. 3, 1942ERNEST BERDACH. 2,384,806 Berdach Sept. 18, 1945 2,418,242 Williams Apr.1, 1947

